Ovarian Cancer is the 5th most common cancer in women and the most common cause of death from gynecologic cancers. There are many different types of ovarian tumors, however, 90% are derived from epithelial cells.

Unfortunately, symptoms of early stage ovarian cancer is often non-specific making early diagnosis difficult. As a result, 75-85% of cases are in the advanced stage when they are diagnosed.

A common site of metastasis is the greater omentum, a blanket like structure that lies ontop of the intestines. The greater omentum wraps around areas of infection and physically limits its spread. In this Daily Doodle, the greater omentum is laying ontop of the ovary and the ovary is sitting in a pool of fluid, representing ascites (accumulation of intraabdominal fluid in the peritoneal cavity).

One of the signs of ovarian cancer is called “Omental caking.” Omental caking is a radiological finding showing a thickening of the omentum which may be a result of metastasis / infiltration. The combination of omental caking, ascites and an ovarian mass is highly suspicious of ovarian cancer.

In this Daily Doodle: The greater omentum is holding a blue piece of film which represents the mnemonic for Risk factors for ovarian cancer – “Blue FILM”:
Breast cancer
Family history
Infertility
Low parity
Mumps